What makes the Bloom around instruments . . .

Did you ever think that the "digital" Spectron amps, although very clean and detailed, are just not able to recreate the natural bloom of an instrument because of their digital nature? I know the good digital amps I've heard, and I've heard good and bad, can sound very nice, but they don't sound natural to me either,and I doubt that I could live with one for very long. Too analytical for my taste's, though they seem to be getting better as manufacturers improve the technology.

I always attributed good bloom to good room treatments and speaker placement. But since the only thing you changed was the amp then I assume your room is set up to allow the bllom to radiate, if it is there. It could also be partially a simple cable mismatch with the Spectron, or a power conditioning problem. But I suspect that it's more in the nature of the 2 amps.

Bob,

You're right about my setup. The only difference between the Pass and the Spectron system was just the amps, everything else was the same.

As far as the Spectron goes, I've not heard another amp that has matched it. My personal list of the high-end amps that I've had in my system over time is:

1. Krell
2. Musical Fidelity
3. Herron
4. Karan
5. Burmester
6. BAT
7. Pass
8. Spectron

These are some pretty heavy hitters, but you're right about something more important. Because I've played music all of my life, I'm used to picking songs apart instrument by instrument as if I'm learning them.

I enjoy hearing what each musician is adding to the song rather than sitting back and just enjoying the song. That's what I couldn't stand about the Pass, I knew that there is an organ in Dire Straits "Industrial Disease", but with the Pass, it was washed out.

I know that if I played the organ in that song, I'd want people to hear what I contributed to the song. I don't think that I'm alone in my listening preference, and I also realize that many people want to just enjoy the song as a whole.

Given my listening preference, if I have to give up the Bloom in order to keep the detail, I'm much more comfortable doing that and knowing that it was my choice. I was just hoping that there was a way to have my cake and eat it too, and I'll do as much as I can to get there, if it's a place that I can get to.

Chuck

i think bloom represents a balance between fundamental and harmonics.

using a violin or acoustic guitaras an example, bloom would exist when the wood body of the instruments was present as one observed the plucking of strings.

i don't think bloom is a treble phenomenon but rather what happens in the upper bass/lower midrange.

I don't think either the spectron or pass amps have the frequency response characteristsics i have described, i.e., i think that both amps have a transistory sound.

i have heard the spectron driving the analysis epsilon. the sound was somewaht thin.

i have owned a pass amp, but not the one discussed here.
i have heard the pass x series amps at ces.

i doubt any solid state amp can "produce" bloom.

i think classic tube products are more likely to be associated with the term "bloom", as i have described it than either current generation tube or solid state.

it could be that the pass amp is more linear in its frequency response than the spectron, which sound a bit peaky in the treble.

keep in mind my experienece listening at home is panel speakers, including quads (esl and 63s), magnepan (1.65 and 2.7) and magneplanr 1 bs.

Went for a listen to the song mentioned and my AS S30 made the organ plain to hear. If the Pass amp kills the organ then I have struck gold.

Chuck, the quote you posted from Rtn1 is as good a description of the quality called "bloom" as I have ever read (though as Elizabeth said, many call it "air," an even more vague term). To me, this is one of the most undefinable of all audio reproduction factors. I think a combination of elements contribute to it - Elizabeth, Noble, Bryon, Baranyi, and others all made good comments on it. To me, these factors add up to much more than one term could describe, but if some want to call it bloom, so be it - it has to be called something, if we are going to discuss it. For me, and for many fellow orchestral musicians, this is one of the most important qualities of sound reproduction - this bloom factor goes a very long way towards determining how "real" a system will sound. Digital and solid state have a very hard time reproducing this particular quality of instrumental and vocal timbres - as I have said before, I think it has a great deal to do with how much of the harmonics/overtones of/in these timbres are reproduced.

I have never heard one of those Pass amps - I would very much like to someday.